Just like pages of maps in a road atlas map out the road network of an entire country, so do a set of Menu Maps map out the entire menu structure of complete software programs like;
...and many more.
In short, a full set of menu maps give you 100% program visibility because for some big software applications, your computer screen can barely show you 1% at any one time.
Menus appear and disappear on and off your screen with every mouse click, and that's one of the main reasons why learning most new software programs is such a time consuming and frustrating experience.
These days, with software the size it is, you need to see it all open, all at once... you need to see the whole big picture... you need the obvious... you need a MAP!
Menu maps show you everything that's in the program... all open, all at once, laid out in exactly the same way that they are structured in the program itself.
Menu maps are like a mirror image replica of the program that exists on paper rather than 'hidden' behind your computer screen.
Menu maps are created by capturing every single menu, sub menu, dialog box, palette, tool etc, etc, from the program itself and pasting them onto the maps so what you see on the maps is exactly what you'll see on your screen when you come to use the software.
Everything you see on your computer screen will be instantly recognisable from the image you have built up in your minds eye of the whole application while using the menu maps... it happens almost automatically as you thumb your way through the Menu Maps!
All the pasted captures are linked by blue arrows that represent actual on screen mouse clicks. The arrows are drawn from whatever is clicked on and point to what you will be shown by the real program when you click on it.
All captures have grey dotted lines pointing to yellow text boxes that explain what that menu or dialog box is for and what it does.
Where there are commands/icons/buttons that perform an action without the need for sub menus, dialog boxes etc,.., a grey dashed arrow starts at the command and points to a white text box where the command functionality is explained for you.
At the bottom right hand corner is a title bar and unique map number for every map in the set. The title is actually a path to the subject of the map itself. For example the title for Map 21 for Photoshop is 'PHOTOSHOP CS2/MENU BAR/LAYER (1/2 - this means sheet 1 of 2)'.
Everything is forward and backward referenced so you always know where you are.
As an instant reference there is also a 'YOU ARE HERE' map reference on every map in the bottom right hand corner. This shows you instantly where in the program you are looking at on the map so you always know where you are in the real program, when your flicking through the maps.
Software these days is big and at any one time as much as 99% of it is hidden 'behind your computer screen' so it's an ideal candidate for mapping.
Mapping allows you to put something vast and invisible into a bird's eye view format so you can get to know it and understand it a lot easier.
Trying to visualise it by clicking your way through the entire program and remembering everything you see and then being expected to somehow build a picture of the whole thing in your head,...has become an impossible task,... unless you've got a gifted photographic memory or lots of time to waste!
The prime objective of a set of Menu Maps is to give you the fastest way to get totally familiar with the contents, layout and functionality of everything in your new software program, idealy before you've even used it for the first time on your computer.
Menu maps make it possible to do this easily, very quickly and without the usual frustration.
Make no mistake, new software UNfamiliairty is like a dead weight anchor to progress. If you don't deal with it now, it will slow you down, pull you back and grind you to a halt every time you try to surge ahead.
Every little bit of progress you make will be hard fought and take much longer than it needs to.
Menu maps give you the confidence and knowledge to surge ahead smoothly, free from the persistent burden of UNfamiliairty, which is the root cause of all the frustration we've all experienced in the past.
Use Menu Maps, get rid of UNfamiliairty, get familiar, and get to know your software thoroughly, in the fastest, easiest and most convenient way possible!
From then on, your eyes will be firmly focused on the creative task at hand rather than the uneccessary and annoying distractions that arise due to software UNfamiliairty.
What are Menu Maps?
